“[Getting rid of] the chemical weapons is not the goal of the United States and their allies, and they never have been,” he said. “They wanted to change the balance of power and to protect Israel.
Assad knows that the goal of the U.S. specific to Syria is not to support Israel, but rather to support Saudi, Qatari and Sunni interests. Assad frames it as U.S. support for Israel as theatre to play to Syria's 75+% Sunni Muslim population, along with all this other sabre-rattling. Israelis, in turn, know that Assad is posturing for internal purposes.
Sounds like Saddam promising the Mother of all Battles.